Ulf Christiansson's 1951 Mercury

A photo of Wolf with the Mercury in 1990, when he bought it. He was working at Winfield's Custom Shop in Canoga Park back then. He was looking for a 1951 Mercury, and one day Gene told him that he had found one in Redondo Beach. Wolf and Rob borrowed Gene's Dodge Van and trailer to go pick it up. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

Wolf started working on the car in Winfield's Canoga Park shop in 1990. He started the build by cutting the front coils and lowering the back suspension. He also bought a baby Lincoln bumper from Gene that he cut up and made taillights out of. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

Late in 1990 Wolf moved back to Sweden, bringing the Merc along as a junker parts car. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

In the spring of 1993, Wolf had a top chopping party, and he and three friends cut one post each, laid the roof down, and backed the Merc out of the garage. "Big moment seeing it for the first time all cut down." Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

Wolf completed the chop in two weeks, except for the side windows. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

In the fall of 1993, before moving back to California, Wolf shot the Merc in thin black primer. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

A photo of Ulf's Mercury taken at a Californian car show. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

A line up of Lonely Kings cars taken at the Cruisin' Nationals in Paso Robles in the 1990s. Photo courtesy of Ulf Christiansson.

1951 Mercury owned and restyled by Ulf "Wolf" Christiansson of Sweden. Known as "Lucille," the Merc was Wolf's second 1951 Mercury. In 2020 Wolf told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that his mission with the build was to build a traditional custom that could have been built back in the early fifties but never was.

Winfield's Custom Shop

Wolf was working at Winfield's Custom Shop in Canoga Park in the early 1990s when he bought the car. He was looking for a 1951 Mercury, and one day Gene told him he had found one in Redondo Beach. Wolf and Rob borrowed Gene's Dodge Van and trailer to go pick it up, and Wolf started working on it in Gene's shop. He started the build by cutting the front coils and lowering the back suspension. He also bought a baby Lincoln bumper from Gene and cut the stock Mercury grille up to make custom taillights out of.

Moving Back to Sweden

Late in 1990 Wolf moved back to Sweden, bringing the Merc along as a junker parts car. In the spring of 1993, he had a top chopping party, and Wolf and three friends cut one post each, laid the roof down, and backed the Merc out of the garage. "Big moment seeing it for the first time all cut down." Wolf completed the chop in two weeks, except for the side windows. He shot it in thin primer before he decided to move back to California in the fall, bringing the Merc with him. "Best move we did."

The Lonely Kings Car Club

Late in 1993, Wolf joined the Lonely Kings car club.